This invention relates generally to media delivery apparatus, and particularly to air brush media delivery systems.
An air brush as used for a media delivery system is characterized by a compressed air source and a media source integrated into a hand held device. The compressed air source is typically an air compressor delivering compressed air by way of hose to the air brush and an intricate set of passageways through the structure of the air brush including a valve for controlling flow of compressed air. The media source is typically a cup-like container for providing a reservoir of media which flows down through passageways of the air brush. Upon actuation of a spray button, a needle valve releases a flow of media near the outlet of the air brush body while concurrent therewith a source of compressed air is released by valve actuation to provide an air flow around and past the needle valve outlet. The air flow draws media from the needle valve outlet and the media is atomized as it exits the body of the air brush within the air flow. In operation, the user depresses the spray button while moving the device in a desired pattern to produce the atomized spray and desired media coverage.
Such hand held air brushes are generally complicated mechanical devices including intricate passageways for delivering media and compressed air and requiring various lever and spring assemblies responsive to actuation of the spray button to produce the desired media flow and air stream at the outlet of the air brush. Such mechanical complexity contributes to a generally expensive item.
Because the media and air intermix within the body of the air brush, an air brush requires an intermediate cleaning step between use of different media or media colors. More particularly, because the media is introduced into the air stream within the air brush at the needle valve outlet, the air brush structure becomes contaminated with each media or media color used and must be cleaned before a new media or color can be used.
Air brushes are typically used in elaborate art work requiring fine control over media delivery and, in many cases, many different media or many media colors in a single project. Cleaning is particularly burdensome in such use of an air brush because the artist often must apply a great number of colors before the work is complete and for each color change an intermediate cleaning step is required.
It would, therefore, be desirable for an air brush to be less complicated to use, less expensive and permit more convenient switching between media or media color.